The New Kid
by CookieMonstersRUs
Summary: Keith, a boy who's lost everything, has moved to his cousin's house after a tragic accident. What happens when he and Natalie, a girl who has everything (a boyfriend, social life, and a future) is thrown into chaos as the new kid walks down the a halls of their school? And what will happen when everything she thought she knew is just a myth?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Future, the Beginning, and the Prologue**

The four of them stood in the crowded hallway with her in the center. Natalie was beyond confused on why they were here and what was going to happen, but she just knew whatever was going to happen would change her life. Hannah stood to the side of the lockers, glaring at her. And in front of Natalie stood Keith and Raff. "What's going on?" she asked, staring at the two boys in the center of the hall. Some kids stopped and watched what was happening.

"This is the choice scene partner," Keith told her. He was serious and no smirk or hint of enjoyment was on his face, or even his eyes. He was dead serious and this made Natalie's arm cover in goose bumps.

"You need to choose," Raff started. He glanced over at Keith, "Him or me." Natalie stood there shocked, how had this turned into…..well this? It was simple, the whole damn thing but the illusion had been completely shattered when Raff asked her the question. Natalie turned to Hannah, who still glared at her, with Natalie's drowning eyes. She was drowning, she realized. Hannah gave her a slight shrug.

"You should really choose Natalie. I'm just here as a safety net, remember?" Hannah told her and she felt all the more alone. She turned back to the boys. Keith who stared at her with his now warm and welcoming eyes. They pleaded her to choose. She could stare into them all day. And then she turned to face Raff. He was the logical choice. He was hot and gave her special privileges that kept her afloat in the waters of popularity and her social life. But Keith was-he was Keith and he made her feel special- they both did, but Keith did in a different manner. And Keith would be the one to drown her in those waters that Raff could steady her in.

Natalie looked around in the hall. She could see her brother Zach turning the corner into their hallway and stopping in his tracks. He could see that she needed a life jacket, but Zach didn't move but only watched. He nodded slightly with a blank stare, but he didn't move. Natalie knew now how much she needed to choose now, her own brother needed her to choose. Natalie shut her eyes and turned back to the boys. She opened them up to find them anxious and nervous and neither of them could decipher what she was going to do next.

She took a deep breath and looked past the boys.

Her classmates walked by and only those who knew them stopped for a moment. Natalie whished Brooke was here, she could help her escape, but Natalie knew she would also make her decide. She focused her green eyes on the boys. "We're waiting," Raff said impatiently. And Natalie opened her mouth for a second before closing it up again as the bell rang.

"I have to be in class," she mumbled quickly and walked past them to class. A tear had rolled down her cheek on the way.

_About seven months earlier_

Natalie was riding her old bicycle down the street. She had found it when she looked through the stuff in her garage. It was blue with white and black stripes on it and it reminded her of her childhood. Those were the days, Natalie thought. The days before her parents started to fight and the days before her parents split up and the days before they got a divorce. It permanently damaged Cynthia and she was in counseling because of her parents, but today, Natalie felt free. She could finally breathe and so she happily drove down the roads with the September breeze coming up at her. It was the beginning of fall and the end of summer, a time which she had spent with Raff, cocooned by his arms and his kisses.

She and Raff had been dating for months now, maybe four? She had lost count, and he was good to her. They took it slow and he didn't mind because he wanted it to be special for him too. She was glad she had Raff, Raff was great. Raff did everything he should have done and she felt like there was nothing wrong at all.

The girl with the blue bike strolled down the roads of her town and through her familiar neighborhoods. It was late in the afternoon, and Natalie knew the sun would set in an hour or two. She sighed with her fun and freedom being ripped away by the nighttime, but she was determined t make her last moments of the daylight count.

And then she saw it.

For the first time she saw it, but he was seen later, but now she saw it. It was yellow and it was a truck. She had never seen a yellow truck before and it made her stop in her tracks. It drove past her and into the driveway of the Petowskis. Hannah Petowski lived in that large white house. Natalie stopped and watched the yellow truck come to a halt. Her green eyes curiously were glued to the side of the truck. Then Adeline Petowski got out of the driver's door and walked over to the other side. Natalie frowned because she just assumed Adeline had just gotten a new car, but her assumption was quickly denied when another person got out of the passenger's seat. It wasn't Hannah and it definitely wasn't her dad, Rob.

The person was definitely a guy and he had crutches. Natalie watched as the boy in a black hoodie tried to get into the house. Adeline tried to help him, but he just denied her and so Adeline went back to the yellow truck and grabbed one of the five large boxes. Natalie strolled her bike over to Mrs. Petowski with a warm smile. "Do you need any help?" Natalie asked, but startled Adeline.

"Natalie! Oh, hi...um no, but thank you for the offer," she said quickly.

"Are you sure?" Natalie checked, interested in the new person.

"No we're good, my nephew has just moved to town to stay with us. But Hannah and Rob can handle the other boxes, thanks though." Natalie nodded and got on her bike. She waved goodbye and thought about what she said. Her nephew? Why was he coming in now? The school year had already started. And where are his parents? Better question, what was his name?

Natalie continued down the road with interest as she made her way home to her siblings and mother.

_Week before Natalie's sighting_

It was the first day of September. Keith smiled a bit to himself. Today was the last day on the boat with his parents. He was sad too, but he was happy he got to go sailing on such a nice looking day. There was wind and the sun was shining happily. His dad was finally going to teach him how to drive the boat today and today he was going to get a key. It had to go into the repair shop to get it cleaned up and by the time it would be finished, boating season would be pretty much over. Keith sat up in his bed and looked around his cabin. It was small, but he didn't mind. It was the boat, and he liked the nice rocking of it. To him, the boat was his lullaby. He practically grew up on this boat, but he grew up to other things.

His dad was a mechanic and that gave him knowledge about cars and boats easily. Keith was even able to keep his nice yellow truck in perfect condition. It was his favorite thing, besides his parents and the boats.

Keith happily jumped out of bed and put on actual clothes. He walked into the small kitchen of the boat and sat down on one of the spinney chairs. His mom was just placing pancakes on a plate when he walked in. "Perfect timing," his mom greeted. Keith nodded and sat down before diving into the pancakes she placed in front of him.

"Where's dad?" he asked, looking around.

"He's talking to your Aunt," she answered.

"Why?"

"Well Adeline's daughter Hannah, do you remember her?" Keith nodded before he continued. "Well Hannah needed some help with cars because she was thinking of getting one."

"Oh, so she needed help picking the right model?" he asked and she nodded. "Okay, well that's cool. Are you excited for today?"

"Yes, but the better question is, are you excited today?" Mrs. Zetterstrom asked.

"Of course I'm excited! I get to drive the boat in perfect conditions!"

Keith's mom sat down next to him, with of all things, a frown. "Umm by perfect do you mean thunderstorms and high tide?" she asked, bursting his bubble. Keith looked outside and saw the clouds forming.

"When did that happened?-No are you sure you want me driving the boat with those?" he asked.

"Of course we do," his dad answered as he got into the room through the sliding glass.

"But it's a storm and I doubt we'll get to see anything," Keith said before adding, "Can't we go around it?"

"Nope, we need to go on our direct course if we want to get back in time," he answered as Keith frowned. His mom seemed to notice and place her hand on Keith's.

"We'll be right next to you so don't worry," she said. Keith nodded and continued his breakfast.

It was bad, it was really,_ really_ bad. The storm was worse than they expected and water filled the boat. Keith couldn't see the sun or anything besides shades of darkness and the dark blue water that crashed on the boat. Waves crashing drowned out the sounds of everything else and Keith had no control over the boat. His mom was gripping a railing that wasn't on the edge for her dear life. And Keith's father was frantically running around trying to keep the boat intact. Keith's knuckles were pale white and apart of the wheel now, but he still couldn't turn or stop the boat from moving. But he was able to pry his fingers off for enough time to get a life jacket. He put his on when the boat took a quick turn, flinging him off of the edge. His mother cried his name but he didn't hear it as he was plunged into the dark waters.

He saw nothing, he heard nothing, all he felt was cold and the water. He was somehow buried deep under it and everything here felt calmer. It was as if he was stuck in jello and only moved when the whole ocean moved. He stared out into the darkness, looking for any change in the darkness, but there was nothing. And that's when it hit him.

He wasn't breathing.

He couldn't breathe.

He was drowning alone, in the darkness without any clue of what was going on around him.

Keith began to struggle in the water. He pulled out his weak arms from his sides and began to swim upwards. When his face broke the surface, he heard the thunder and the wind blowing in his ears and what he thought was a scream. A woman's scream. Keith quickly opened his eyes and looked around in the clashing colors of grey, black, and blue. He saw a white object, far from him, spinning around in the sea. It was the boat, Keith tried to swim closer and as he did so he heard a noise. Not just any noise, another boat's honking. A light blared through the night as the storm rampaged on. Keith swam harder and faster, trying to reach his boat in time but it was too late.

The black boat collided with the tiny white one like they were in a game of bumper cars. Keith tried to scream as the boat broke in half. He didn't know where his parents were, but he cried out for them. Keith tried to swim faster as the safety boats of the other ship zoomed down with the passengers. There were maybe twenty people on board and five crew members, but they quickly tried to escape their own sinking ship. Keith heard their cries and tried shouting to his boat's passengers, but no one reply.

Keith took off faster than before and was only a few strokes away from his boat. "MOM! DAD!" Keith shouted at the shredded boat. Searched for his mom first, but she couldn't be seen. Keith quickly took off his life jacket and swam under the water to his sinking boat. The glass door wouldn't budge, so Keith used all of his weight on it, trying to break the glass. The shards quickly fell and many cut Keith himself, but he didn't care. He moved them aside and ended up cutting his fingers some, letting ink like blood sway in the water. He pushed himself the opening to find his mother and father both laying on the ground.

They weren't moving.

Keith swam over to them and tried to shake them up, but they were still. He hurriedly, grabbed their wrists with his hands and tried to move their limp bodies. They were too heavy for him and he was running out of energy and air. Keith looked around and knew he had to make a decision. He couldn't carry them both out at the same time. Keith quickly grabbed his mother and tried to pull her to the surface. She wouldn't move and when they reached the surface, she didn't breathe. "HELP!" Keith shouted as loud as he could. He drifted in the water and tried to stay afloat with his heavy mother and no life jacket. A small boat quickly came over and they pulled Keith and his mother aboard, practically dragging him.

"Are you alright? Is there anyone else aboard?" a man asked quickly. Keith nodded.

"M-my dad, he-he's in the big room," Keith stuttered with the cold finally affecting him. The man quickly jumped in the water before anyone could stop him and Keith sat against the side of the boat breathing heavily.

"Can you tell me your name?" a woman asked. Keith tried to look at her, but he felt extremely tired and couldn't keep his eyes open.

"Keith-Keith Zetterstrom."

"How old are you Keith?"

"Sixteen, I think-yeah sixteen," he tried to remember. Being thrown off of the boat must have really jogged his memory.

"What grade are you in?"

"I'm a junior-"

"I got him!" a voice called as the boat gained weight. Keith's eyes opened up immediately and he scrambled over to his father. The woman tried to get him to sit still but Keith quickly checked for his dad's pulse. Dread crossed his face as Keith sat back down. He was heartbroken when another passenger checked his dad's pulse and then his mom's.

"They're dead," the passenger said and Keith shut his eyes immediately.

Dead.

They were dead.

He was alone.

His eyes scrunched closer together with anger.

"Keith, wake up, don't fall asleep. Keith!" the woman shook Keith and he looked up to her. Meeting her brown eyes, the woman stopped and looked him in the eye. "Keith, you need to stay awake so we can get you to the hospital. Do you understand?" He nodded as the boat moved closer and closer to shore and farther and farther from _The Southern Belle_, his home and boat.

When they reached the shore, the ambulance had already arrived and they rushed Keith to the hospital. He passed out on the way with tears streaming down his face.

His yellow truck pulled into the driveway of his Aunt Adeline's home. He was to live with her and her family now. She was his legal guardian. Keith sighed as the ignition to the car was turned off and the hum of his baby died down.

When he woke up, he remembered they were dead. His aunt was there with him for the week and he was quiet the whole time. His cuts had to be stitched and he had a slight concussion. He had to walk around on those stupid crutches and had to sleep more often. The first few days of that week were spent in the hospital. But on the fourth day he was allowed to leave and returned home. He was informed quickly by his aunt that he would come live with her.

The house was hard to walk into. Memories resurfaced at every footstep he took. Ones he didn't like and the ones he didn't even remember came along the good and painfully happy ones. Walking past his parent's bedroom hurt the most and he quickly shuffled to his own room. He knew that he needed to start packing. Adeline never mentioned leaving, but Keith knew he couldn't stay here forever with her own family to attend to. Her family. Keith sighed as he packed his stuff into boxes and tore down his posters on the walls.

He told himself he wouldn't cry at the funeral.

He promised he wouldn't get angry when all the people called him saying sorry.

Keith swore he would forget that the accident ever happened.

But he didn't.

He cried at the funeral as he placed the roses on their graves.

He angrily deactivated all of his accounts and unplugged the phone.

He dreamed of the accident at night.

His aunt had to force him to eat and she tried to get him to talk, but he would never budge. So on Friday night, he told her he wanted to leave on go live with her in Virginia and get out of South Carolina. She unwillingly agreed so on Saturday morning, he walked down the street of his neighborhood with his crutches. He tried to hide his face and he tried to go unnoticed by anyone he knew. Some saw him and were about to go up to him but he continued down the street towards the house where someone he knew lived. He knocked on the door and it opened instantly. Keith always wondered why the door to the Smith's house always opened so fast. And out came a girl. She nearly tumbled onto him and she shrieked with shock.

"Keith!" she exclaimed as she hugged him. Even after doing this so many times with her, he still felt uncomfortable hugging another girl. But it made him less worried knowing the girl next to him was his girlfriend. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry about your parents. Do you need me to do anything? Do you need any support? How are you doing?" she asked immediately. Her sapphire eyes stared up to him with concern and he nodded slightly. She hadn't let go of him.

"Pam," he said silently with sadness. Her eyes got wide and she knew already that she was about to cry about what was going to happen next.

"No Keith. _No_. Don't do this to me Keith, please. Don't. Do this to me," he voice was now cracking. She was having trouble swallowing down her gulp. She knew this was going to happen. Pam could see it in his eyes, the eyes of sadness, death, and distance.

"I'm sorry Pam," he whispered softly before leaning down and kissing her cheek. He could feel them getting wet as he pulled away. "I'm moving." And that's when she burst into tears and cried I front of him. He pulled her in for a goodbye hug.

"You're such a heartbreaker," his best friend joked through the tears. Keith wanted to cry for her, but he was now a rock. Vowing to never smile or even love again because of what pain he would endure after it.

"Goodbye Pam," he whispered in her ear as she squeezed him tighter. Pam nodded solemnly and then loosened her grip.

"There will always be a welcoming home here," she told him as she wiped her noose with her sleeve. Her black hair was now tangled. Keith forced a smile, not a true one that he vowed to never again have, but just fake one for her. For Pam. His best friend and girlfriend.

"I might just take you up on that offer," he lied. As he slowly backed away from her.

"We'll keep in touch?" she called.

"Maybe," he answered as he turned himself away and walked back to his home. But surely he wasn't going to try to see her again. At least not now or anytime soon. When Keith got back he and his aunt packed his truck and finally began to drive. He tried to sleep on the way, but was hard to fall asleep with his nightmares lurking his dreams. He sighed and went back to watch them drive to her home in the center of Virginia.

Keith slowly got out of his truck and walked towards the door of his aunt's she offered to help him but he refused. He knocked on the door and it opened pretty fast too as he stood there with his crutches. Hannah opened the door. Keith knew Hannah was a bit of a rebel, so he wasn't surprised when she opened the door with two blue and red highlights in her blonde hair. She wasn't surprised he was here so she wrapped her arms around Keith and pulled him into their large home. It was clean and mostly white with some light warm colors and the brown floors.

Hannah pulled him over to the couches and she sat him down on one of the cushions. "How are you? What injuries did you get?" she asked immediately. He was quite confused on her later question but he didn't find it odd.

"Slight concussion and a lot of stitches," he answered. Hannah nodded and was about to ask more when her aunt called.

"Rob! Han, help me get these boxes out of Keith's truck!" she called. Hannah looked over at him and he nodded. She jumped up from her seat and ran out the door, quickly getting Keith's stuff. Rob came downstairs and said high to Keith as he went outside the house. Keith nodded slightly with an almost smile as he looked around the house.

It was a large white house. And the TV room was huge. He was a little excited to see what the other rooms looked like. He said as he dug deeper into the couch.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The First Meet**

Natalie was curious on the name of Adeline's nephew. She couldn't see his face and she was somehow obsessed with it. All she knew was that the boy was staying with her and that he drove a yellow truck. She didn't know if he would go to her school or if he was nice or not. Natalie way awake that night replaying him walking with his crutches. Why did he have crutches? He obviously wasn't used to them because his balance was off. She should've been closer, so she could at least know what he sounded like. The boy was a mystery, a mystery that was like a mosquito bite that she couldn't stop scratching. She sighed angrily and decided it would be best to go to sleep, she did have practice tomorrow but her body was in a distant place.

She quickly grabbed her shoes and crept down the stairs and out the door. Her mother was a sleep and she assumed Zach was too. He was either asleep or at some girl's house. Natalie sighed at the thought of her brother before she quickly ran down the road. She didn't usually walk to her destination but tonight she wanted her mind to be somewhere other than the mysterious boy who lived maybe ten minutes away. She slowed down her pace, but quickly sped it up as she neared the forest. And there she was at the crossroads. Turning left would take her to the Brick, a party central that occurred most nights. But she had no idea what would happen if she turned right. She stood there for a moment before turning right. At least she could solve one mystery tonight. Walking up the path, she found a clearing. She was on a cliff and across the water was the brick. She was a little surprised at its sight but she didn't dare move closer to the space. It seemed wrong for her to be there now, like it was to happen, but not now. Natalie tried to move her feet closer to the edge but no such luck, it was like there was some kind of force field blocking her from moving forward. With defeat finally winning, Natalie turned around and walked back down the road. Then she turned left.

Keith was put on the pull out couch for now. He didn't like the thing and he couldn't sleep so well on it. For one it was uncomfortable and two he knew he was going to have nightmares, making him resort to staring up at the ceiling for five hours until he actually fell asleep.

And he was right. The nightmares came to him that night. They consisted of the whole storm. But it kept focusing in on him alone under the water yards away from the boat that his parents were dead in. The doctor had told him that his father died instantly from getting hit on the head by something. And his mother had drowned quickly when she had a panic attack. Keith buried his face in the pillow once he was half awake. He wished he could erase the whole incident and still be in South Carolina with Pam.

Pam.

Pam was his only friend besides his parents. Pam was nice and compassionate and she tried to involve everyone in everything. Ever since they met in third grade though, Pam had a crush on Keith. Keith didn't like her back until freshman year. He never really understood the point of having a crush or liking someone the way his parents likes each other. That was until they had an assignment together that involved defining love. She was not discreet when she explained to him what love was, and she described their relationship. Keith knew by then that that was not what love was, but he could tell she liked him and maybe even loved him. It also took Keith about three months for everything to click.

He wasn't slow, he just hadn't understood it yet. Having never felt such love, he never knew about it. Pam called him a heartbreaker whenever he was unsure about what he was doing and distanced himself, but Pam thought he was just nervous.

Keith sighed to himself again. Pam was his only connection back home besides his home itself, and he was surprised by that. He was also surprised about his decision to leave, and her too. Keith opened his eyes slightly before closing them again. He sun was bright and it was happy, which made Keith angry. Such a deceiving little piece of scum. He made him think that a week ago that day was going to be perfect, and what did he get instead? Shit. And death, but mainly shit.

Keith unwillingly sat up on the bed. And then he heard someone running down the stairs. It was Hannah of course and she ran into the kitchen. Keith was confused and sat up some more to look at her. She was a sophomore and right now her hair was in a tight ponytail. She was wearing lose baggy clothes and flip flops. "Where you going?" he asked in confusion when she walked out of the kitchen with a granola bar.

"Diving practice, you wanna come see me be awesome?" she asked him. Keith stared at his cousin. She was a diver? Keith slowly nodded and got up from the bed. He had nothing to do and don't want to be on that bed any longer then he needed to be. His head bobbed up for a second. "Cool, but you need to be ready in like a minute or else I'll be late," Hannah told him. Keith got up immediately and went to go get some clothes. He changed into them quickly and got his crutches.

"Ready," he told her when he walked into the kitchen.

"Can you drive? Sorry, but I was originally going to walk and with you I might end up being there like an hour before you even get halfway," she said.

"I have my license," he answered. He didn't want to drive, but for Hannah he could make an exception. She was his little sister you could say, especially now.

"Are you sure?" Hannah asked again making sure it was alright with him. He shrugged and then nodded. She smiled and ran quickly to the door and out to his car. He opened the door to his truck and slowly got in. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he followed her directions. He was in control, he kept repeating. He could control the car. Cars he can control he breathed. Hannah didn't seem to notice.

"So, since when are you a diver?"

"The sky's the limit," she told him with a smile, "Do you remember that you used to say that all the time when we were younger?" Keith nodded.

"Yes," he said remembering. "Those were the days when I just learned that you could do and be anything."

"Yep, I remember you saying that every time I asked you a question what I should do for my science fair project. That_ really_ helped Keith," sarcasm was in her voice. Keith shrugged.

"Well it was true, but you still haven't answered my question," Kith reminded.

"I don't know honestly. I just found myself there. And I liked doing it, so I tried out for the team."

"So is this for your future or something? Or is this for fun?"

"Fun, I take on from the master. And he told me to enjoy life to its fullest," she said with a smile. Keith couldn't help but feel proud. _He_ had told her to live life like that. _He_ told her that and _she _stuck with it. He only thought she ignored him all these years but he guessed not. And this made the thoughts of last week fade for just a moment. "We're here," she said as he pulled into a parking lot of a building.

"Is this the school?" Keith asked and she nodded. It was huge. Keith nodded and opened his door. Hannah walked over to his side as he hobbled out.

"What about your crutches?" Hannah asked. Keith shook his head.

"Do _you_ want to be bothered with those kinds of questions?" he asked annoyed. She nodded in agreement as she took is arm on her shoulder.

"As long as you don't move, you'll be fine right?" she whispered as they entered the building. Keith only nodded as she continued to lead him a down a series of hallways. Finally she slowed down and opened the doors. Inside there were a lot of swimmers getting ready to dive and only a few watching them from the bleachers. It smelled of chlorine and bleach. Hannah continued to lead him to one of the seats. She nervously glanced over at Keith, "So don't go anywhere, I don't want to have to explain this to my mom. Practice should be over in an hour or two and please don't do anything disruptive," Hannah ordered.

"And for a second there, I thought you were rebellious," Keith stated simply as he nodded down in his chair.

"No, not really anymore, I just keep the act up so mom will keep buying me nice clothes," Hannah explained. Keith's face formed a small smirk.

"Okay I'll try not to do anything but breathe in all the chemicals," he told her. Hannah rolled her eyes and then walked away, leaving Keith alone in the bleachers. A few minutes later, Hannah came out in a bathing suit and goggles. Keith watched her get into line for her dive. He then proceeded to space out. He tried not to think about it, but his mind couldn't be trusted. He thought of his mom. And his dad. And the boat. And the whole accident. He wasn't connected to reality, which gave his mind a perfect time to scare Keith into believing he was reliving those moments of doom.

"Hey, hey!" a voice said, snapping Keith into reality. Keith had just found his mom and dad in the sinking boat. He turned his voice to the person talking to him. He was Hispanic, with short black hair and tan skin. Anger flashed in his eyes.

"How may I help you?" Keith asked immediately.

"You're in my seat," the guy growled. Keith looked around the chair and then back to the guy.

"I don't see a name tag," Keith answered plainly.

"Yeah but I sit here everyday freak," he told him. Freak. He'd been called that many times before, but when the guy before him said it, it gave Keith chills.

"Well sorry," he stressed the word 'sorry'. Keith didn't feel like fighting with some stranger today, he seemed to be in a better mood than he thought. Even with the day nightmare still playing through his head. So instead of fighting, he slowly got up from the seat and hobbled over to the wall. The guy didn't notice him after that, but Keith wanted to just scream. He was in pain, his legs really didn't like moving at that moment so Keith leaned against the wall and bit his tongue so hard that blood began to come out. He hoped he didn't tear his stitches.

While Keith's tongue bled out, he watched the girls finish their dive meet. To Keith, Hannah looked great diving. He figured she had excellent form, but what did he know? Once she was finished, she quickly went to go change before she ran to Keith. "So?" she asked.

Keith nodded, which made Hannah squeal with joy. "You were good," she still smiled after he said that. They stood there for a few minutes until a girl walked into Hannah by accident.

"Sorry Hannah," the girl apologized. She was breath taking. She had strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. She was tall and beautiful and-Keith shook his head violently at his last thought about her. '_You're not supposed to enjoy anything anymore,' _a voice in his head whispered.

_'Why?' _he asked.

_'Because you killed your parents.'_ Keith stood still at this sudden realization that he knew was true. Why hadn't that sunk in last week? Or the moment he woke up in the hospital? Why now in front of his cousin and a girl?

"It's okay Natalie," Hannah said. Natalie looked over at Keith as if to say _'What's wrong with him?'_

"Cool. We'll good job Hannah and….." she trailed off, looking for his name.

"Keith," Hannah told her. Natalia smiled at him but Keith stared down at the ground. She took the hint that he didn't want to talk.

"Well it was nice to meet you Keith," she said as she turned around and walked away. He looked up when she was far enough away from him. Keith could see that Natalie walked towards the guy who called him a freak earlier, and they were now kissing. He let out a breath.

Hannah noticed.

"Is Keith Zetterstrom nervous?" Hannah asked in surprise. She was laughing now and Keith only glared at her.

"Her boyfriend called me a freak and made me stay over here," Keith justified in a partial lie. That's not what made him nervous.

"Who? Raff? Rafael Marques is all talk and no game. He wouldn't hurt a fly," she told him. Keith lessened his tenseness for just a moment before tensing up again. "Ready to go?" Hannah asked.

He nodded.

"Then lets head to the car!" she almost shouted.

Natalie walked away from Keith and Hannah. She wondered what their relationship was for a millisecond before getting distracted by Raff's embrace. He hugged her tightly, a little too tightly, before leaning down and kissing her. They kissed for a few moments until Natalie heard Hannah laughing and then almost shouting something that she couldn't decipher. This brought Natalie back to wondering about Keith. Hannah's life was getting more confusing and interesting now that this Keith character joined in and so did her injured cousin.

She and Raff broke apart for a moment and stared into each other's eyes. "You look so hot right now," he told her and she blushed. They stood there for a moment until they broke apart and they went outside.

And that's when she saw it.

The yellow truck.

Inside it was Keith.

And crutches in the bed of the truck.

Was Keith Hannah's cousin? He must have been. Why else would he be driving the yellow truck and have those crutches? Is that why he didn't move an inch when she noticed him near the end of practice? He looked like he was in pain, but Natalie didn't think it was physical pain. Raff saw Natalie staring at the truck moving away. "You okay?" he asked with concern, snapping her back into reality. She turned to Raff and put on a smile.

"Yeah, just thinking."

Raff pulled her closer to her for another embrace, "Well I was thinking of something too."

She looked up at him in surprise. Was he suggesting what she thought he was suggesting. "And what kind of surprise are we talking about here?"

Raff only smiled as he leaned closer into her ear. "A special one," he whispered with excitement. Natalie's eyes couldn't help but widen at this new development. Since when were they talking about sex?

"Ahuh, you know I'm not ready," she whispered back, making him pull back.

"Well that's going to be a problem," his voice sounded serious. Natalie looked up at him.

"What? What do you mean? Are you sayin-"

"I'm just kidding," he laughed. She glared at him and playfully punched his arm. "You know I wouldn't force you to do anything." She nodded with relief. "But…."

"What?" she asked immediately.

"My uncle has a cabin we could use," he told her. His eyes were shining with excitement for what she would say next, hoping it would a yes.

"Maybe, when we're ready." He frowned for a second but put on a smile as a cover. She knew he wanted this to happen, hopefully though he could wait.

She grabbed his hand and they walked to his car so he could drive her home.

"You don't have to go now," his aunt told him.

"Yeah but I want to."

"Keith, you haven't even settled into your room, what makes you think it's a good idea to start school so soon?" Rob asked. Keith shrugged his shoulders.

"I just don't want to spend all day on that bed," he replied. He really just wanted a distraction.

"I think you should go to a counselor," his aunt blurted out at the table. They were in the kitchen and Keith's had swiveled over to her.

"What?"

"I-we think you should go see a counselor," Adeline stated again.

"Why?" he glared.

"You haven't talked since the accident, we're just worried-"

"I don't want to talk about what happened," his voice was slightly raised. Adeline got up from her seat and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want you to just pent all of this up inside, you even left your house to soon," she told him. Keith glared as he looked into her pleading eyes.

"No, all I wanted to do was go to school."

"Just one session," her voice pleaded. Keith held his stare for a moment until his shoulders slacked. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, one session but then I get to go to school," he answered and she nodded. They were both happy and sad for the agreement. Keith dreading to go to the session and Adeline for putting him into school at his command. She took her hands off of his shoulders and went back to the table. Rob was watching them in the corner of the room.

"Speaking of your room," he started, looking directly at Keith, "it looks like I finally cleared out the space."

"I've been here for one night," Keith stated. He didn't like the idea of the room. It would force him to acknowledge that he was staying her permanently.

"Yeah, but I've had all week to prepare," Rob replied.

"So…."

"Well you're going to be staying in the basement, it's all cleaned out and I've put down some carpet and paint. But tomorrow, if you'd like, Adeline and Hannah can help get you furniture and stuff to put in your room," he suggested. Keith nodded. "Great! I'll just be in my office if anyone needs me." Rob walked out of the room and down the hall, leaving Adeline and Keith in the kitchen. He headed for the exit of the room.

"Oh and Keith?" she called. He turned around to stare at his aunt.

"Yeah?"

"Just remember I'm always here to talk."

"Yup."

"And I'm setting that appointment up for Tuesday."

"Okay," he didn't like it but at least he could go to school sooner.

"And don't forget you need to use your crutches! And I'll register you tomorrow," Adeline called as Keith went farther down the hallway.

"Fine…." Keith said as he opened the door to the basement. He stepped down each stair with precaution and slowly. When he reached the bottom he stared at the white walls and the carpet flooring. There was a closet, small bathroom, and a window. He moved towards the center imagining what he wanted his new room to look like.

But it wasn't his room.

His room was back in South Carolina with his still alive parents, Pam, and the boat. This would never be _his _room. Or _his _home. It would just be the Petowski's relative living in their basement. And since when did that work out?

Especially with an emotionally damaged teenager with a need to forget pain.

He also didn't want love.

Of any sorts for the matter.


End file.
